Project Connect will be Jan. 29

Friday

Jan 24, 2014 at 9:33 AM

By John MulcahyDaily Telegram Staff Writer

The eighth annual Project Connect to help the homeless and those in housing crisis will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, in the Merchants Building at the Lenawee County Fair and Event Grounds.

The event, sponsored by Lenawee County Continuum of Care, will feature 50 service and information stations where those in need can get help with housing, food assistance, employment, mental health needs, government assistance, legal issues and financial guidance.

Visitors also can get medical screenings, flu shots and hair cuts, as well as lunch. Those needing transportation to the event can arrange for it by calling 264-6360.

Volunteer personal guides will be available to assist participants in visiting the information stations, an innovation that began last year, said Candy Taulton, co-chair of the Project Connect planning committee.

“It’s warm, it’s inviting, it’s assisting,” Taulton said about the personal guides. The goal is to engage people and help them get the assistance they need, she said.

Also on Jan. 29, Housing Help of Lenawee will conduct a point-in-time count of homeless and near-homeless people. Besides counting the people who attend Project Connect, counts will be taken at many social service agencies, food pantries, shelters and schools, said Elizabeth Salerno, housing case manager for Housing Help of Lenawee.

The 2013 point-in-time count found 662 people in Lenawee County who were homeless or near-homeless, including those doubling up with family or friends, in transitional housing, living in places not meant for habitation, or in other nonpermanent housing arrangements, according to data provided by Housing Help of Lenawee.

The point-in-time count is required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for counties to be able to receive federal grants to help the homeless.